


Chicken Salad

by mattygroves



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: 7.16, Domestic Fluff, Episode Tag, Family Cuddles, Fluff, Getting Together, Kidfic, M/M, charlie is sleepy, grace is a mastermind, rated teen for very mild language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 16:58:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9912353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mattygroves/pseuds/mattygroves
Summary: In which Grace cannot even with her two gay dads.AU from Season 7, episode 16--you know, the infamous Valentine's Day one.





	

“Melissa and I broke up. Well, she broke up with me, but it’s not a big deal, I’m fine,” Danny breezed into his kitchen, dropping his keys and wallet on the counter, missing the dish set out for the very purpose of catching those items.

Grace looked up from where she was slicing a mango at the center island. “Sorry, Danno. That’s a bummer.” She cut one half in a crisscross pattern before inverting it over her bowl and expertly cutting the mango into clean chunks that made a _splooshing_ sound where they fell.

“Where’d you learn to do that?” Danny asked, momentarily distracted.

“Uncle Steve,” Grace said with the implied _duh_ in her voice she’d always been so good at. Danny couldn’t even blame it on the whole teenager thing. It was probably his fault anyway, deep down, just like it was his fault Melissa called it quits, and Rachel, and—

“I kind of always thought you made her up, anyway,” Grace says, in her matter of fact way.

“ _What?_ ”

“Melissa. She seemed made up to me. It was like, what, four years you were together and I never met her.”

“You never met her? You met her! Haven’t you? That time with the thing,” Danny snapped his fingers, willing his brain to remember, “With the building and the collapse!”

“That was Amber,” Grace said patiently.

“Amber? No, they were the same person. Didn’t I tell you that?”

“No,” Grace said archly, sweeping her bowl off the counter and taking it to the sofa, where she sat with her legs tucked under her, opening a magazine on the seat beside her. “That’s also the time when you and Uncle Steve first said you love each other,” she said, as if it were pertinent to this conversation.

“How do you even know that?” Danny asked, smoothing his hair back with a hand and collapsing on the sectional across from her.

“I pay attention. I hear things.”

Great. He’d raised a detective. Rachel would be thrilled. Danny needed to get a handle on this conversation before it spun anymore out of control.

“What are you eating?” he asked, controlling his voice to what he hoped was a purely conversational tone. From the look on her face, Grace wasn’t buying it.

“Mango, Greek yogurt, and this flax-chia-hempseed granola Uncle Steve made.”

“He _makes_ granola?” He’d known the man for seven years and this was the first he’s hearing about his domestic granola fetish?

“It’s his new thing. You should try some. He thinks you should eat healthier.”

Danny felt his grip on reality slip further. How did Steve have the power to do this even when not present?

“Hey, Grace,” Steve said, coming in through the back door without knocking, “Danno.”

Great. Just great.

“Danno just got broken up with,” Grace said, before Danny could speak.

“Bummer, man,” Steve said, sitting beside Danny on the sofa and slinging his long arm across Danny’s shoulders. “Amber?”

“ _Melissa_ ,” Danny said through gritted teeth. “You literally just spent the weekend with her, how do you not know her real name?”

“It slipped my mind,” Steve defended.

“It’s okay, Uncle Steve,” Grace said, with a mouth full of yogurt, “I didn’t even know they were the same person until like, five minutes ago.”

“Danny!” Steve turned to him accusingly.

“Melissa wasn’t really big on kids,” Danny mumbled, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

“You were with her for four years, Danno,” Steve said.

“Yeah, Danno, what the hell?” Grace said with a grin; she was clearly enjoying his misery. He couldn’t really blame her on that count right now.

“Hey, language,” Steve said, still not taking his eyes off Danny.

“Sorry,” Grace said, barely chastised.

“What are you even doing here?” Danny asked Steve.

“We’re going running later,” Grace explained, through another spoonful of yogurt.

“Could you stop with the talking and the mouthful of food thing?” Danny asked. “It’s disgusting. Didn’t I raise you better than that?”

He ignored the light snort from Steve. Grace just smiled a yogurty smile.

“The chia seeds really stick in your teeth,” Grace told Steve.

“Yeah. I find the best way is to really go to town with the nail of your pinky finger when you’re all done. But you’ll be finding chia for a few days.”

“Ugh,” Danny sighed, letting his head fall back against Steve’s arm. He didn’t even complain when Steve gently nudged him so that his head slid over onto Steve’s shoulder. What? It was comfy and Danny was tired.

“I’m gonna go do my math homework while this settles,” Grace said, indicating her empty bowl. “Running in an hour?”

“Sounds good,” Steve said, letting his body sink loosely into the cushions and crossing his legs on the coffee table.

Grace put her bowl in the dishwasher and left for her bedroom.

“Where’s Charlie?” Steve murmured sleepily.

“Napping.”

“Smart kid.” Steve’s head slipped back until it was nestled against Danny’s ear.

 

***

 

About a month later, it was still bothering Danny.

“Why’d you think Melissa was made up?” he asked Grace abruptly. He’d just put Charlie down for a nap and come back into the kitchen to see Grace at it again with the mango and the yogurt and the _granola_. Steve’s granola.

Grace didn’t even look surprised. She just smiled a little and gave him a calculating look. Then with a shrug she said, “I thought you were just trying to distract everyone from your real feelings for Uncle Steve.”

“My _what_? Feelings? For _Steve_? Okay, Monkey, that’s adorable but you are so very, very wrong here.”

She glared at him over the kitchen island.

“I’m sorry, okay?” Danny continued, “But that’s not—that’s never—”

“No, it’s fine,” Grace said in a tone that indicated the exact opposite. “You guys had been spending a lot of time together since the break-up with Amber—Melissa—whatever. Even more time than usual, and that’s saying something. I just thought you both were finally ready get your heads out of your asses—”

“Woah, language,” Steve said, coming in. Unannounced. Again.

“Sorry,” Grace gritted out, still glaring at Danny.

“What did I walk into the middle of?” Steve asked, in his can-we-fix-it?-yes-we-can! voice.

“Nothing,” Danny said quickly.

“Nothing,” Grace echoed sullenly, grabbing her bowl. “I’ll be in my room.”

“So,” Steve said when Grace’s door shut (at least she didn’t slam it and wake up Charlie), “Teenager stuff?”

“My daughter thinks she’s a detective,” Danny braced his hands on the counter and hung his head, still not ready to meet Steve’s eyes. “Or a therapist. It’s unclear.”

“Uh—”

“Listen, I gotta go. Errands. Milk. That premade cookie dough stuff since not all of us can be Martha Stewarts with the homemade granola like some people—”

“Danny.”

“I promised Charlie cookies and milk when he woke up, so I’ve gotta go. Can you stay? I’ll be back in time for you and Grace to go running.”

“Sure, buddy. Whatever you need.”

Danny didn’t flee the scene. He left briskly in a manly fashion. When he returned, Grace and Steve went running with barely two words exchanged among the three of them. Danny sliced the cookie dough and got the oven started while Charlie napped on.

Later, when the runners returned, it was Steve who had trouble meeting Danny’s eye, and he left without staying for supper, even though that had become a Friday evening tradition for the four of them over the last month.

“You’re going?” Charlie asked Steve, confused and sleepy. Danny picked him up, still warm from his nap, and kissed his pillow-crumpled cheek.

“Uncle Steve’s got things to do,” he explained.

“Yeah, sorry buddy,” Steve said, coming close enough cradle Charlie’s head for a moment. “I’ll see you soon, though.”

And then Steve fled the scene in a manly fashion. Danny raised his eyebrow at Grace, letting his face say _I know what you did_ , while Grace’s own face had a stubborn _I have no idea what you’re talking about_ expression that Danny didn’t buy for a second.

 

***

 

It was awkward between them for a few days, but chasing bad guys through the streets of Honolulu did wonders for that. Danny and Steve were grabbing lunch at Kamekona’s truck later in the week when they saw Melissa out on the sand, sitting on a towel with another woman.

“Isn’t that Lynn?” Danny asked.

“Yeah,” Steve said.

“Well,” Danny ushered his arm toward the women.

“What?”

“Shouldn’t you go say hello to your girlfriend?”

“We broke up.”

“What? When?”

“About a month ago. The same day as you and Melissa, actually.”

“And when were you going to tell me, Steven?”

“It wasn’t a big deal. It was a mutual thing, and you’d been with Melissa a lot longer. I didn’t want to steal your wallowing thunder.”

“My—okay, listen up—”

But Danny never finished his rant. He was arrested mid-thought by the sight of Melissa leaning over to Lynn and kissing her deeply. That was—

“Woah, that’s rough, my dudes,” Kamekona dropped their plates on the table, all three of them still staring.

“Well, that explains some things,” Steve said finally, digging into his lunch.

“It _does?_ ” Danny asked, but Steve did not elaborate.

Kamekona chuckled and wandered off, tapping away at his phone.

 

***

 

A little over a week later, it was Danny’s weekend with Grace and Charlie again. He picked them up from school that Friday, Charlie going right down for a nap after his afternoon preschool session.

“So, you running with Uncle Steve today?” Danny asked casually as Grace went through her mango-yogurt-granola routine.

“I run with him every Friday.”

“You’re only here every other weekend,” Danny pointed out.

“He picks me up at Mom and Step-Stan’s when I’m not here,” Grace said as if explaining things to a small child. “Steve thinks I should join the track team, but I’d have to quit cheerleading. I’m not sure if I will.”

“Well, I’ll support whatever you decide.”

Grace smiled a little into her yogurt. “Thanks, Danno. Uncle Steve made me promise not to tell you, but sometimes I beat him when we sprint.”

“Really?” Danny crossed his legs and leaned toward her on the couch, ready for more salacious gossip.

“Well, he’s not as young as he once was,” Grace said airily.

“Do not tell him that,” Danny said, “He’d probably attempt a swan dive out a moving helicopter just to prove you wrong.”

“Who’s wrong?” Steve asked, gently shutting the back door behind him.

“Nobody,” Danny and Grace shared a conspiratory grin.

Steve eyed them both suspiciously, but sank onto the couch next to Danny without a word. Unless a grunt counted as a word.

“You okay?” Danny asked.

“I broke a rib yesterday with that drug dealer,” Steve shrugged, then winced a little.

“You broke a—you’re unbelievable,” Danny sighed. “When exactly were you going to tell me?”

“I’m telling you now,” Steve said, petulant.

“And you thought you’d just go running with my daughter with a broken rib, Steven?” Danny waved a hand at him to indicate the workout clothes Steve was currently wearing.

“It’s one rib, Danny.”

“Oh my god,” Danny cradled his head in his hands.

“It’s okay, Danno. We can just walk to the park and I’ll work on sprints. Uncle Steve doesn’t have to run at all.”

“I don’t trust either of you, for the record,” Danny said.

“Can you get me an ibuprofen, Danny?” Steve smiled guilelessly.

“Yes, dear.”

 

***

 

Danny was vindicated when Steve and Grace returned from park, with Steve clutching his side. His arm was slung around Grace, but it was clear he wasn’t really letting her support his weight.

“Uh-huh,” was all Danny said as he brought out the icepack.

“It was just one race,” Steve explained from his state of manly collapse on the couch.

“I won!” Grace called triumphantly from her room.

“I was injured,” Steve called back, his face immediately contorting in pain. “Ow.”

“Excuses, excuses,” Grace replied.

“What am I going to do with you?” Danny asked fondly.

“I can think of a few things,” Steve grinned stupidly.

“Are you kidding? We’re doing this now? With my kids in the house and you with the broken rib?”

“Yeah,” Steve said. “Come here.”

Danny went.

“Oh my god, you guys,” Grace said on her way to the shower, “This is a public area.”

Danny reluctantly pulled his lips away from Steve’s stubble. “Don’t you have a little brother to torment or friends to text or something?”

“Oh yeah,” Grace said, “I should text Kamekona the good news.” She turned back toward her bedroom to grab her phone.

“ _What?_ ”

“He’s been spying on you guys for me. He told me all about the Melissa and Lynn thing. Ouch,” Grace grimaced sympathetically.

“I think we’ll get over it,” Steve deadpanned.

“You’ve had Kamekona spying on us?” Danny asked, sticking to the pertinent information.

“I needed a man on the inside,” Grace shrugged, going back to her room.

“I’m a little scared of her,” Steve mumbled.

Danny groaned and collapsed on top of Steve.

“Ow,” Steve said again. But he added with a chuckle, “Chicken salad.”

“Sorry,” Danny mumbled into his neck, shifting to avoid his injured side.

Grace came out, heading back toward the shower. “Oh, by the way,” she said, “Kono said to thank you for finally getting your shit together. She won two hundred bucks in the office betting pool, but I get a cut for being her inside man on the domestic side of things.”

“Language,” Steve and Danny said at the same time. Grace just laughed all the way to the bathroom.

“I can cuddle, too?” Charlie asked sleepily, coming out of his room with his favorite blankie trailing behind him.

Danny and Steve shared a goofy smile. “Yeah, buddy. You can cuddle, too. Just be careful, Uncle Steve has an owie on his side here.”

“Okay,” Charlie said, clambering up over Danny’s feet to lie heavily on his chest. Danny felt a little pinned down with Steve snug against his side and Charlie breathing into the space behind his ear, tickling a little, but at the same time it was just...perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly can't remember if Melissa spent any other time with Danny's kids besides meeting Grace at the collapsed building, so I'm sorry for any inaccuracies on that front! Thanks for reading, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments :) Come say aloha on [tumblr!](http://mattygrovesfic.tumblr.com)


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